Jointed doll



Sept. 305 1952 H. SENIOR ET AL J OINTED DOLL Filed OCc. 16, 1947 .4 2 kzl Patented Sept. 30, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JoTNTED DOLL f Henry" senior and' 'George Tomlinson, Leicester,

- England,

assignors to G'ascello'id Limited,

Leicester, England, a British company Application october' '16', 194i, serieINe. '180,230 I Greet' Britain oetober 19, 1946v 1 This* inventionV rentesl te and concerns the manufa'c'tr'e ofdolls and other model ngu'res-or puppets in human,' animal orA like forms' `(all hereinafter referred# to, unless the context other- Wise admits, in theterm 'doll) and has particularr'e'ference to azdoll of the kind having' a hollow bodyprovided'with a hollow member' or members, su'ch as a headand/or limbs (included hence-` forth inthe generalterm lim'b)` attached or each attached to the body by-means of a resilient element, arranged Within the dollyso as-tobe movable or capable' or swiv'elling relatively' tothe body.

In a" doll of this' kind the or each limb is con-` nected to aresilient element such as a length of 1 Claim.l (Cl. 46;"1-73) ery willen is capable ofbeing pessedthreghfthe open innerend of the limb by virtue 'of-V the 'g'ap orgaps in" said member', and ythis anchor member,

indiarubber, a spring',`ortheequivalent'which is adapted toexert anr inward pull von the limb; uso as toi'T'iai-ntainl itin position, and to' exercise a measure of control over thelimbto' prevent it from being moved or turned't'oofreely or' easily. ln order to'position the-limb or'Y limbs properly in` relation to the body ofthe doll, in's'o'r'ne'dolls of the kind set forth the inner end'of'this" limb is furnished with avspigot portion which 'is 'arranged to seat in asocket' inthe doll-'body'.

'The present invention concernsthe attachment of the hollow limbs to the appropriate-resilient element of the doll, and has for-its principalf-object t provide improved anchor' means i501' this* pmfpose of e; .particularly S1mp1eendtemeiet character asv will be hereinafter described.'

orf at least one ofthe limbs Yis connectedto-the associated resilient element through the medium'V of an anchor member, this anchor memberbei'ng in the following description and in theappende'd.

claim is Vused in a generic sense to include a plate, spider or like part.

The invention further includes a doll ofthe kind set forth-in which thaea'ch,l or at least one, limb` is connected to ayieldable element through the'j 'medium' of Y ananchor member in theform ofv a plate, 'spider ori-like part havingspikes, prongs, teeth ortheY like outstanding therefrom, said anchor member being located in position Within the' inner end of the limb -by reasonotits spikes or 'the like engaging or embedding into `the material of the adjacent part'of said limb.'A

Regarded from another-aspect, the invention comprises a doll including atleast one limb which is secured to the remainder of the figure throughV When' established in its effective fposi'tion, 'being arranged to snbten'd this inner yend' of theilimb Withits outer peripheral partsapplied' against: or anchored in a shouldered part providedin'said( limb adjacent its inner end. f l Inthe' manufactureof a doll according to the" invention, the anchorv m'em'beis inserted inthe relevant limb through the open inner endy of the latter priorv to theassemblyfof the limb onthe body of the doll, and is thereafter engaged'withi the resilient element. f Although the outer end of the" resilient elementI may be attached directly to` the allbhor' member; it will usually `be preferred" toattaeli"l to' the-latter? a'len'gthvof vvir'e or equivalent to Whiclilin'turn' the resilient element is'conn'ected'.`V Thusfffor, eiazn'p'la spi-kedtprongedor equivalently 'ior'n'ried anchorfinay be provided with a central-"hole: through`r vvhich af p'i'ce'of Wire"l is passed, "the'sai'd wire' having' a retaining looped formation orfa headat one endarranged to'be'arv upon'the'back; of the' plate and being'hook'ed at the other 'endz to engage the'fresllientelement; Y. The' anchor member'1na` i be of any appropriatey form. l In a convenient embodiment' 'of-'theinven tion the member is of dishedjformlvv'ith'radiating spikes orl prongs, the" said-ineiiiber,A vvhenflo'cateil inponsition, having its coljic'a'vity'fa-ing'thaopen-5 ing ln the hollowI'I'lf'liltblevlillb'fd Wl-thjtli pointed ends of the forvl'a'dly extending-spikes? orfprongs embedded inthe-snrroundingmateria i The invention'is illustrated; by Wayof-exa in the accompanyingldrawin'gsg fin 'vvhich Figure 1 is ank elevational f ievvlofadollfpartly in `longitudinal section,` lindica'tingf a pref"rr'eiy form ,of nmb attaehmentmans iriae'c i with the'invention. c Eigurezis'a sectionl on` IIN-11 ofl Figure 3i's" a perspectiveview'offanfindivi anchor plate as used in Figures 1 and2y Figure 4 illustrates a niodifledformof l member. n i v 'AH The den illustrated 'in 'rieure' redm is torsoorbody l, legs 2 and"."3`,'-ajr`1d'arm all these members' being'hollo'w' and formed, A any'appropria'tesubstance included inthe en'e'ri'c-A` te '1'n1"plastic,or fromplastichina 'clay or a other. Suitable materiali c L I j Each of the limbs 23i 4 andEfisijQrm'ed tilts? innerv open end with ai circularjhollovv lneck-6rVv spigot 6' Whichis' accommodated'in a* ingly dimensione'd arid-[shaped soc et' eff body- I, soy as to be capableofstvivellingm en'n't" Wthin the socketas Well' as'cliinitedaxialsn" "e" me'n't relatively toftheglatter. e

case beingfprovidedonthe body :I at `the neck part, andthe socket I in thezlowerpart of .the head 8.

The limbs 2. 3, 4 and 5 and the head 8 are retained in assembly with the body I by means of resilient elements, in this instance in the form of lengths oi elastic material such as rubber. Advantageously strands or bands of relatively thick rubber, e. g. of $41 inch square section, are employed. In the illustrated example one endless rubber band II is used mutually to connect the arms 4 and 5, and two endless rubber bands I2 interlooped at I3 are provided between the head 8 and the legs 2 and 3, one band being attached to.-` thelegs12 and 3, and the other being 4secured tothe vhead 8. Each ofzthe limbs is retained assembled on the b odyI bythe respective rubber bandthrough the medium of an anchor member I4, which is shown in more detail in Figures 2 and 3. This Yparticular member hasa central portion I5 with three triangular arms IB radiating therefrom. The member is' cut, stamped or pressed from a sheet of spring steel, e. g. of 22G-thickness, and theapices of -.the triangular arms IS are sharplyA pointed so as to.;form'spikes, prongs or teeth 2I which are equiangularly spaced. Moreover, the .member is of dished or concave form, the arms I6 being inclined tothe plane of the centralportion I5. The latter is provided .with axcentral perforation I'I through Whichis passed aconnector comprising a length of wire I8 headed at i9 topreventcompletetwithdrawal from. the member, and-formed at 20 with azhook which is engaged in therespective-loop of rubber II and I2. The lengths of these lrubber bands are of such measures that, when the partsare assembled and interconnected, aspillustrated in Figure l, the Apull on the various anchormembersprovides suilicient friction between the parts of the Spigotfsocket joints 6, 'I to cnntrolthe rotary adjustment or swivelling of thelimbs relatively to body I..

. 'Ihemembers I4 may be-regarded as ofdished disc form with portions cut away to leave the outer points or Vspikes 2l thereof .separated by gaps.- Suchgapping of-the periphery of .theplate enables it to.v be inserted into the appropriate Thus, as will be observed fromrFigure 1, the spigot 6 of ,each limb is adjoined by an enlarged portion. oi .the limbjfvorming a shoulder 22 which atleast partlysurrounds .the ,openinnen end 23 ofgthelimb 'andwhichhas its inner suriacemeetingfthat .ofthe adjacentportion of .thelimb atan angle, as for example at' 24. Thdwidth of ,the limb at this .shoulder part is. approximatelyequal 150,.. and [preferably .veryslightly smaller sthanathe overall span of theanchor member.

IHence,'when, in the .course of `,assembly of. the doll, the individual limbs are to be attached to the body, a member I4 will be inserted through theilopen end 23 oi the limb concerned with one o1' itspoints 2l inthe limb. and then twistedso as to slip it .past the wall of the socket 6 by virtue of thegapped part or parts ofthe plate; When adjusted again, within the limb, the member I4 is brought into a position as shown in Figure 1 `with its width subtending the end 23.

.The hooked end 20 is thenengaged over vthe appropriate rubber loop and this causes a pull torbeexerted on the anchor member I4 towards thebodyl of ,the doll. With the length and thickness of the rubber band suitably determined, this will .result in an anchoring of the anchor member by .means of `a three-.point mounting against the shoulder 22 in the angle as aforesaid.

so as tofprecluderotation of the anchor-@member relatively to its limb and impart the required resistance to turning of the spigot 6 in socket l. Any movement tending to separate the limb from the doll increases the gripping eiect of the spikes 2l in the wall of the limb.

If the doll is made with its internal surfaces at any rate of a comparatively soft material, e. g. siliceousmaterials such as earthenware or plaster of Paris, the spikes 2l of a dished anchor mem- 'ber will dig into or embed in this material thus further enhancing the gripping effect of the anchor member I4. In addition, the desired gripping eiect is increased by the inclined arrangement of the arms I6 of the member, IIL-4 and the dished form of the.. latter, when. arranged, as shown with itsvconcavity facing the end 23,.also improves the rigidity of the plate.

It will be appreciated .that .other forms of anchor member could be employed. and forinstance a spider or like member having more thanthree spikesZI, e. g. four as in Figure 4, or of ,curved dishedvform, also as illustrated in this figure, are suitable. Furthermore the size of. theiplates will vary according to requirements. If desiredthe anchor member may be of flat form.

In the form of doll illustrated the head 8 is vretained by means of a crossbar or wire 25 which is notched at 26 tov receive. the upper. loop of -the rubber` band I2. The outer ends of .the bar; or wire 1 5 bear against theinterior ofV the side walls of the head 8 sothat this bar or. .wire isretained by a Wedging eiect.

l.What we vclaim then ls:

A doll ofthe character-wherein. atleast one hollowlimb is connected to a vresilient.element within thetorso through the medium of afresilient anchonmember, saidanchor member -including a central; Vportion and a .pluralityy of spaced apart triangular. prongs extending out- Wardly from the central portionV and beinginclined to the plane of the central portion,..the resiliency of the anchor member and thegaps between the prongs allowing .the anchor member to be passed through lthe open innerend of jthe limb, the said anchor. member being located within the inner end ofthe limb and-being adapted to subtend the innen end` of the limb .withthe prongs imbedding inthe limb adjacent; its1inner end thus. iixedly ,securingthe anchor ,member to thelmb; andmeans to connectffthefanchonmember toithe resilientxelement.

REFERENGESQCI'IED TThe `following references .are ofwrecord in-athe file of'thisvpatent:

UNITED 'STATES PATENTS 

